DEEP Shows Banned Pets, Urges Animal Turn-in

Fred the 6-foot-long alligator was displayed at a state Department of Environmental Protection press conference, as an example of one type of animal not allowed as a pet in Connecticut. State officials are asking owners of banned, exotic pets to turn in the animals at Beardsley Zoo March 31, from 10 am to 3 pm. New restrictions on the keeping of wild animals as pets went into effect March 5. Photo by WTIC's Matt Dwyer.

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At a state Department of Environmental Protection press conference, Fred the alligator was shown as an example of one type of animal not allowed as a pet in Connecticut. State officials are asking owners of banned, exotic pets to turn in the animals at Beardsley Zoo March 31, from 10 am to 3 pm. New restrictions on the keeping of wild animals as pets went into effect March 5.Photo by WTIC's Matt Dwyer.

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At a state Department of Environmental Protection press conference, a baby alligator was displayed as an example of one type of animal not allowed as a pet in Connecticut. State officials are asking owners of banned, exotic pets to turn in the animals at Beardsley Zoo March 31, from 10 am to 3 pm. New restrictions on the keeping of wild animals as pets went into effect March 5. Photo by WTIC's Matt Dwyer.

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Rainforest Reptile Shows' Michael Ralbovsky shows a yellow anaconda which is not allowed to be kept as a pet in Connecticut. The animal was being kept in a closet in a home in Torrington. State officials are asking owners of banned, exotic pets to turn in the animals at Beardsley Zoo March 31, from 10 am to 3 pm. New restrictions on the keeping of wild animals as pets went into effect March 5. Photo by WTIC's Matt Dwyer.

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Rainforest Reptile Shows' Michael Ralbovsky holds an example of an animal not allowed to be kept as a pet in Connecticut, a black throated monitor lizard, found running on a street in Brooklyn, New York. State officials are asking owners of banned, exotic pets to turn in the animals at Beardsley Zoo March 31, from 10 am to 3 pm. New restrictions on the keeping of wild animals as pets went into effect March 5. Photo by WTIC's Matt Dwyer.

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Greenwich's Leo Zoological Conservation Center Director Marcella Leone Marcella Leone holds a young white handed gibbon named Jeremiah, an example of an exotic pet banned from private ownership in Connecticut. State officials are asking owners of banned, exotic pets to turn in the animals at Beardsley Zoo March 31, from 10 am to 3 pm. New restrictions on the keeping of wild animals as pets went into effect March 5. Photo by WTIC's Matt Dwyer.